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Nat King Cole in General
by paulhanton Nat 'King' Cole. Some of you may be aware that I play alto saxophone. It struck me recently that a lot of the ballads that I play or practise have at one time or another been sung by Nat King Cole. I then realised that on my iPod I had nearly 30 songs by the man, so somehow he has crept into my life....interesting...so I ... toddled over to iTunes to have a look at some of his other, less well known stuff. Firstly I was genuinely shocked to see that there are 22 pages worth of albums dedicated to the man, that is impressive for a man that died at 45 years old and made most of his recordings in an era where to be a black 'superstar' was quite rare. Now I love his voice, the first song that I both recall hearing, and subsequently playing was 'Too Young'. This soft ballad is incredibly simple in both musical arrangement and structure, which suits his velvet voice well. He was a crooner of sorts, but with a distinct jazz background which comes through in the slight swing in his vocals. His vocal is very smooth, very restrained, very cool. Baritone technically he had an ability to almost talk in some of his songs that took his tone down a little, and in other songs 'Lets face the music and dance' he takes it up a little. He was not always a singing star, in fact that seems to have happened, by all accounts, as an afterthought as he occasionally sung to some of the tunes he played on piano and more and more people asked him to sing. Originally he was a jazz/swing pianist and some of his brilliance at the piano can be heard on fair few of his albums from the 40's. It was in this era that black musicians were very much seen as backing musicians to white singers, though of course there were a few exceptions. When Cole started to sing lead vocals he had a great deal of racism to deal with, even being attacked on stage. Apparently many black musicians felt he had 'sold out' by leaving jazz for 'pop' songs and many white musicians (and members of the public) did not like him encroaching on ground held by the white singers of the time. I find all this quite hard to comprehend in this day and age and cannot comment too much as I know little of the time and place. The best way to pay any homage to the guy is to just think about how many songs he sung that you might know, yet almost forget he sung. 'When I fall in Love' is probably his best known song and is truly a 'classic' even when this term is as overused as it is today. A beautiful and simple song that completely captures the essence of his talent; Simple, heartfelt lyrics, sung with feeling, perfect timing, perfect tone/pitch and the clarity of his vocal, just spot on. 'Mona Lisa' has a hint of Latin about it, the guitar and strings a beautiful accompaniment to his rich voice. Maybe not his best known song, but along with 'Too Young', the epitome of his voice. 'Nature Boy' a more traditional song that appealed to a more jazz/blues audience. 'Lets Face The Music and dance', who does not know this? Featured in many films, TV adverts and skits, actually a great song. 'Unforgettable', again, a beautiful song, a match for anything by Sinatra, Crosby, Bennett. 'I'm in the mood for Love'...good old jazz lounge song. I'll stop there with his songs or I will go on forever, well, one more: His rendition of 'Autumn Leaves', a much played jazz classic, is stunning. He manages to slow the song down to almost angst like with little effort and it becomes a very different offering to almost any rendition of it you can hear elsewhere. What was quite remarkable about the man and his music to me was that he straddled distinct musical styles, adapting and moving with them; Jazz, swing, be bop, lounge and pop, and he seemed to do with some ease, whereas many of his contemporaries, such as Louis Armstrong seemed to be a little 'stuck' in their era and style. Like many a musician of the era he died an untimely death at 45 due to lung cancer, and also like many musicians of his era, especially black musicians, he is only now really getting the recognition he deserves. Though in truth he probably did better than many of his contemporaries, even becoming the first black man to host his own TV show. I have not really touched on too much of the politics surrounding the man, though have mentioned it. I am a great fan of musical history and jazz history in particular and really appreciate the music as it is set against the politics and social situation of the time. This is where Coles undoubted skills come to the fore. A clever man, a good looking man with a great voice, he did what was right for him and what he could at any given time. He used his talents well and lived his life as he wanted to. Great pianist, great singer, great man. Read the complete review |
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Bud Powell in general
by spoonfacer Bud Powell was born in 1924. He died in 1966. The years between were filled with music. He took up the piano aged five. Through the encouragement of a musical family, and through studying European composers (especially Bach), he developed a fleet-fingered and harmonically sophisticated technique that enabled him to develop ... a unique sound on the piano. His early introduction to bebop in the clubs of 1940's New York, combined with his superb technique and inventive attitude to music and life, enabled him to produce a stream of wonderfully elusive and distinctive tunes, interpretations and accompaniments throughout a musically productive (though troubled) career. Bud was, variously, a manic-depressive, an alcoholic, a prescription drug addict, a victim of aggressive sedation, an inmate of mental institutions and a refugee in jazz-crazy Paris, exploited, befriended, bewildered. His life was lived through a lens of tranquilizers, electro-shock therapy, loss, loneliness, success, poverty, tuberculosis. But Bud's fingers played music. From his earliest recordings the beautiful panic was on- the stumble around the melody realised in a stuttering stream of delicate, forceful figures. Bud's music is always elegantly shaped, sometimes carried away with its own complexity, but always as direct as it needs to be, desperate to say what needs to be said. The early recordings (the Blue Note material collected on 'The Amazing Bud Powell', the Verve collections) demonstrate a striving for a new, linear kind of piano playing-ideas come too fast to carry through, the 3 minute limit on recordings slams the door on the endless flow. The later recordings (such as the limping Bud, barely able to follow Dexter Gordon's leads on the Parisian Blue Note album 'Our Man in Paris') have a charm of their own- too slow fingers, too big a heart. Watch Bernard Tavernier's film 'Round Midnight' for a dramatization of th is damaged man's time in Paris. Bud is the sound of an Icarus flight. Perhaps even more than Charlie Parker's music, Bud's music tells an old simple story behind a flurry of notes. The one I, the cry. The need to tell the world before the world tells you. Bud is the sound of music beyond the sense of words and the freedom to disappoint, to wander a pathless path, and ultimately to fail. Bud had no career. Bud went where Bud's need took him. Listen to the bluesy invention of Bud playing Coleman Hawkins' 'Bean and the Boys'. Listen to 'Willow Weep for Me'or the unstoppable eddies in the stream of 'Just One of Those Things'. Listen to 'Bud on Bach'. Listen to the skyscraping Art Tatum chords in 'Autumn in New York'. Listen to 'Celia'. Listen to the half-grown child that plays 'Over the Rainbow' and try not to feel something. Bud's beautiful. "Jill Murphy asked me to write about one of my favourite things to help her celebrate her fourth anniversary of cancer-free living and to remind ourselves of all the nice things in the world. It takes more muscles to make a frown than a smile you know. If you'd like to join in, whether you've only just joined dooyoo, or you've been here ages, you're more than welcome. Just write about one of YOUR favourite things, make your title "A Favourite Thing: [your choice]" and include this paragraph at the foot of your opinion. And post before Friday, 9th August." (well she didn't but I thought I would. Bud's more likely to make a tear than a smile, but it's a GOOD tear, you know.Beautiful things are underrated I've always thought)... ;o) Read the complete review |
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Roy Ayers - Live
by Live just ain't the word. As with many American JAzz and funk outfits who's players are of a certain age let us say, Roy Ayers and his band simply cannot be faulted on their live performances. Ronnie Scotts is not condusive to dancing but you just couldn't help but jiggle around inyour chair, tap your feet bang the table and ... lord knows what else. For this is funk at its finest and the whole point is rhythm. The band pressed all the right buttons and the support act blessem' was obliterated in an instant. Get to see this man if you can but make sure it isn't a sit down dinner kind of venue or your food wqill go cold and your drinks will get spilled. You have been warned! Read the complete review |
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